Recently, there has been an increased interest in tailored development of certain classes of polymers, such as electrically conductive and optically active polymers (e.g. polythiophene, polypyrrole, polyphenols and polyaniline) for application to wider ranges of use. Examples of such uses include light-weight energy storage devices, electrolytic capacitors, anti-static and anti-corrosive coatings for smart windows, and biological sensors. However, the potential applications to which polymers can be put have been limited by their lack of solubility and processability.
In particular, interest in developing biosensors has been stimulated by efforts to sequence the human genome. Analysis and manipulation of polynucleotides is expected to have genetic engineering applications and aid in the diagnosis of genetic disease and in the development and improvement of new drugs. For example, deoxyribonucleotides (DNA) exist in living organisms almost exclusively in a double helix conformation. However, many variations in this conformation has been shown to exist (e.g., A-, B-, C- and Z-type duplexes). The helical structure of a particular duplex is related to its sequence and its environment. These variations in conformation are thought to be responsible for the binding of molecular species, such as enzymes or regulatory proteins, to DNA. Therefore, methods of modulating the conformation of DNA are expected to have applications in the area of biosensors, molecular recognition and drug development.